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vacuum

I have one of the metal framed, vinyl lined pools like you purchase from Wal-Mart. It came with the vacuum that attaches to a garden hose. This works ok for some stuff. I ended up with a pretty discolored pool I used a product called Green to Blue (I think that is what is was called). It worked wonders, my water is now clear, however, there is a tremendous amount of "dirt" on the bottom of the pool. I used the vacuum that I have but the "dirt" is too fine for the bag, it just returns and clouds up the water. A friend gave me some old pool supplies, it had a hose that attaches to the skimmer and a vacuum head (I made sure there was not air in the hose). When I tried that I think I may have ruined my pump, so I attached another pump. I have very little suction from the pump and when I do get a decent amount of suction the water that returns to the pool is dirty. A couple of questions... Do I need a heavier duty pump? And more importantly, any suggestions on getting the dirt of the bottom of my pool?

Re: vacuum

Welcome to TFP!

We don't recommend using Green to Blue. Too many people are having problems with it. After using it you need to vacuum all of the debris on the bottom to waste. The exact way you do that varies depending on how your equipment is setup. What kind of pump/filter do you have?

Re: vacuum

I am having pretty much the same problem. I have a 15'x 48" Intex metal frame pool with a Intex 56635E 1,500 gallon pump. I used the Green to Blue treatment and now my pool is a nasty mess. Sure, the water is clear, but now I have brown crud all over the bottom of my pool. I tried using the vacuum that came with the pool, one that attaches to a garden hose, and that turned my pool into a cloudy mess. Then I tried using the pump to filter the stuff out, but had to replace the cartridge after an hour. Now the crud has settled to the bottom of the pool again. I'm going to the pool store today to get a better vacuum, but I have no idea what to get. I really don't want to walk in there completely clueless, so I was hoping to get some advice from the experts.

Re: vacuum

I ended up getting a hose and a new vacuum head. Of course, it didn't connect directly to the pump, but I found a way to rig it. It worked, had lots of suction, but the dead algae is too fine and went right through the blasted filter pump and back into the pool. I think I may have to just vacuum the nasties off of the bottom of the pool and let the water flow right out of the pool, at this point. I just don't know what else to do. My kids have been without their pool for four days now and I think they are starting to conspire against me.

Re: vacuum

I use a Catfish battery operated vacuum. You just attach it to the end of your adjustable pole. It has it's own dirt/leaf bag, so nothing goes back into the pool. A bit pricey but totally worth it. You can find one for around $100 I think. I have a 24 ft above ground pool and I can pretty much get the whole bottom of the pool on one charge.

Re: vacuum

Originally Posted by pesto_osu

I use a Catfish battery operated vacuum. You just attach it to the end of your adjustable pole. It has it's own dirt/leaf bag, so nothing goes back into the pool. A bit pricey but totally worth it. You can find one for around $100 I think. I have a 24 ft above ground pool and I can pretty much get the whole bottom of the pool on one charge.

Which model do you have? I have read some pretty bad reviews on catfish vacuums. Wondering if there is a specific model that is better than others.

Re: vacuum

Originally Posted by crs16

Originally Posted by pesto_osu

I use a Catfish battery operated vacuum. You just attach it to the end of your adjustable pole. It has it's own dirt/leaf bag, so nothing goes back into the pool. A bit pricey but totally worth it. You can find one for around $100 I think. I have a 24 ft above ground pool and I can pretty much get the whole bottom of the pool on one charge.

Which model do you have? I have read some pretty bad reviews on catfish vacuums. Wondering if there is a specific model that is better than others.

I don't see a model number anywhere. It just says Pool Blaster Catfish PPV on the manual. I have an auto-vac too but the Catfish works great for spot cleaning. I also use a skimmer sock which helps a lot with dust and pollen.

Re: vacuum

There are a couple very simple and free solutions to this problem. Since you already have a hose and vacuum head, the best thing to do is vacuum to waste. 1. Put the vacuum hose in front of the return to fill it with water. 2. Turn off the pump. 3. Disconnect the hose going from the pool to the pump where it connects to the pump and let water fun out onto the ground. 4. Connect the vacuum hose to the strainer connector. 5. Vacuum to waste using the natural water pressure. 6. Reconnect everything when you are done.

Anyone reading this who doesn't have a vacuum kit can do basically the same thing (only much slower) with a garden hose. 1. Run a garden hose from the faucet into the pool. 2. Turn on the water and let it run a minute to get all the air out. 3. Turn off the faucet. 4. Quickly disconnect the hose from the faucet. This will cause water to start flowing backwards from the pool toward the faucet. 5. Get in the pool and use this suction to vacuum the pool with the garden hose. You could tape a pole to the garden hose in step 1 if you want to vacuum from outside the pool.

Re: vacuum

I am using the vac that came with the pool but I put a white knee high over opening then I put the mesh bag over that it works really good. I vacum every other day real quick and change the knee high as needed every few weeks.

Re: vacuum

check out the post under Pumping Station about "Slimebag for 1/10 the price". I used "sort of the same idea" and it helped alot. All I have is the little 603 model pump and an old vacumn hose, but it sucks well enough to get dust and sediment from the bottom of our small pool. First, I use the venturi style on the garden hose to get all the leaves, bugs, twigs out, then vacumn the fine stuff, the bags catch ALOT of sediment that the cheapy filter doesn't catch and would end up going right back into the pool through the return.

Re: vacuum

Originally Posted by my4boys2002

I am using the vac that came with the pool but I put a white knee high over opening then I put the mesh bag over that it works really good. I vacum every other day real quick and change the knee high as needed every few weeks.

That is a really good idea! It also begs the question, why doesn't Intex use a finer material for the bag? I wonder how it would work if you attached one of these http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-BP...Bag-Filter.asp to the garden hose (venturi) vacuum. I bet it would do a pretty good job.

Re: vacuum

Originally Posted by WILANDAARON

check out the post under Pumping Station about "Slimebag for 1/10 the price". I used "sort of the same idea" and it helped alot. All I have is the little 603 model pump and an old vacumn hose, but it sucks well enough to get dust and sediment from the bottom of our small pool. First, I use the venturi style on the garden hose to get all the leaves, bugs, twigs out, then vacumn the fine stuff, the bags catch ALOT of sediment that the cheapy filter doesn't catch and would end up going right back into the pool through the return.

I saw that thread was thinking of trying something similar. We have had a lot of rain the last few months, so I have just been vacuuming to waste. When the weather dries out an I don't need to drain water, I will give that a try. Do you just attach the bag to your return and vacuum through the filter? How do you attach the bag?

Re: vacuum

I just use the mesh bag that goes to the venturi thing. I slide it over the micron bag and use the drawstring to tighten it down over my return, tucking it all under return fitting so I get it on good. I might add that I ordered bags from Duda Diesel and they come with a metal ring sewn into the mouth opening. I just used side cutters to cut it and pull it out. I don't know if the McMaster(?) bags are like that or not. I ordered the 7" opening by 16" length. Make sure to spray them off as soon as you are done or they will harden up.

Re: vacuum

This got me to wondering how many microns a knee high would be. I found a pretty informative discussion about it at http://www.biodieseldiscussion.com/f...hp?t-6537.html. Since the hose are cheaper than the bags, it could be good to put the hose inside inside the filter bags as a pre-filter that would make the biodiesel bags last longer.